- geographical situation: it is located in south-western Romania, stretching in the south up to the narrow path of the Danube, on the Yugoslavian border; - neighbours: in the east-Gorj; in the south-east-Mehedinti; in the north-east-Hunedoara; in the north-west-Timis; in the south-west-Yugoslavia; - surface: 8,520 square km (respectively 3,6 % of the country's territory); - population: 360,000 inhabitants; - towns: RESITA - capital of the county (with 95,000 inhabitants, on the Barzava river, with a long industrial tradition, we could mention some important dates: 1769-the metallurgic factories were founded, 1872-the first steam-engine in the country was made here); Anina; Baile Herculane; Bistra; Bocsa; Caransebes; Moldova Noua; Oravita. - relief: it is varied, dominant being the mountains (The Western and Southern Carpathians, the top heights are to be founded in the Godeanu Mountains, Gugu Peak with 2,291 m, in Cerna, Tarcu, Mehedinti, then in the Banat Mountains with altitudes below 1,400 m, represented by the Almaj, Locvei, Semenic, Anina, Docnegea Mountains, but also the southern part of the Poiana Rusca Mountains, the two branches of the Carpathians are separated by the Bistra and Timis - Cerna depressions). The hills (Mehadia, Almaj) and the plains (the extreme south - eastern limit of the Banat Plain, between Resita and the Nera Gorges) occupy a small area of the county; - climate: it is temperate continental, the south presents influences of the submediterranean climate, the dry and warm south wind can be felt blowing from south-west and Cosova, violent wind from west; - watercourses: the Danube presenting a high density, but also the Timis river with Bistra and Hideg, and also Pogonis, towards north, Caras and Nera, towards west, Cerna towards east.

TOURISTIC SIGHTS

MOUNTAINS

- The Semenic Mountains-(with Piatra Goznei Peak, 1.447 m), they represent the highest and biggest unit of the Banat Mountains. They are formed of smooth gentle slopes inviting you to rest and enjoy. The Semenic offers good skiing conditions (snow lasts until March). The mountains are easy to climb from any direction;

- Comarnic Cave - in the north of the Anina Mountains, on the left slope of the Comarnic Valley, at an altitude of 440 m, the longest cave in Banat (4,040 m), it was declared monument of nature due to its underground beauties. The huge halls are connected by a network of galleries structured on two levels; - Buhui Cave-(more than 3,200 m in length), it is situated on the left slope of the Buhui Valley, in the Anina Mountains, at an altitude of 600 m. It includes one of the longest underground watercourses in Romania, the Buhui brook forming inside the cave a series of lakes and waterfalls; - Popovat Cave - on the right slope of the Caras Gorges, (at an altitude of 421 m), it is a monument of nature; - The Bats- Cave; - The Thieves- Cave-(near Baile Herculane); - The Voinii Cave; The Small Cave; The Big Cave - in the Nera Gorges-Beusnita preserve.

Source: Romanian Travel Guide / Publirom

- geographical situation: it is located in south-western Romania, stretching in the south up to the narrow path of the Danube, on the Yugoslavian border; - neighbours: in the east-Gorj; in the south-east-Mehedinti; in the north-east-Hunedoara; in the north-west-Timis; in the south-west-Yugoslavia; - surface: 8,520 square km (respectively 3,6 % of the country?s territory); - population: 360,000 inhabitants; - towns: RESITA - capital of the county (with 95,000 inhabitants, on the Barzava river, with a long industrial tradition, we could mention some important dates: 1769-the metallurgic factories were founded, 1872-the first steam-engine in the country was made here); Anina; Baile Herculane; Bistra; Bocsa; Caransebes; Moldova Noua; Oravita.

- relief: it is varied, dominant being the mountains (The Western and Southern Carpathians, the top heights are to be founded in the Godeanu Mountains, Gugu Peak with 2,291 m, in Cerna, Tarcu, Mehedinti, then in the Banat Mountains with altitudes below 1,400 m, represented by the Almaj, Locvei, Semenic, Anina, Docnegea Mountains, but also the southern part of the Poiana Rusca Mountains, the two branches of the Carpathians are separated by the Bistra and Timis - Cerna depressions). The hills (Mehadia, Almaj) and the plains (the extreme south - eastern limit of the Banat Plain, between Resita and the Nera Gorges) occupy a small area of the county; - climate: it is temperate continental, the south presents influences of the submediterranean climate, the dry and warm south wind can be felt blowing from south-west and Cosova, violent wind from west; - watercourses: the Danube presenting a high density, but also the Timis river with Bistra and Hideg, and also Pogonis, towards north, Caras and Nera, towards west, Cerna towards east.

TOURISTIC SIGHTS

MOUNTAINS

- The Semenic Mountains-(with Piatra Goznei Peak, 1.447 m), they represent the highest and biggest unit of the Banat Mountains. They are formed of smooth gentle slopes inviting you to rest and enjoy. The Semenic offers good skiing conditions (snow lasts until March). The mountains are easy to climb from any direction; - The Cerna Mountains-(with Dobrii Peak, 1,928 m), their limestone structures stretch as far as Baile Herculane; - The Anina Mountains-(with heights between 900-1,000 m), with many Karst gorges and depressions.

CAVES

- Comarnic Cave - in the north of the Anina Mountains, on the left slope of the Comarnic Valley, at an altitude of 440 m, the longest cave in Banat (4,040 m), it was declared monument of nature due to its underground beauties. The huge halls are connected by a network of galleries structured on two levels; - Buhui Cave-(more than 3,200 m in length), it is situated on the left slope of the Buhui Valley, in the Anina Mountains, at an altitude of 600 m. It includes one of the longest underground watercourses in Romania, the Buhui brook forming inside the cave a series of lakes and waterfalls; - Popovat Cave - on the right slope of the Caras Gorges, (at an altitude of 421 m), it is a monument of nature; - The Bats- Cave; - The Thieves- Cave-(near Baile Herculane); - The Voinii Cave; The Small Cave; The Big Cave - in the Nera Gorges-Beusnita preserve.

GORGES AND NARROW PATHS

- The Narrow Path of the Danube (Portile de Fier - Iron Gates) - the longest narrow path in Romania (over 100 km), it also covers part of the Mehedinti county. The Danube, the second river in Europe (in terms of length and flow) after the Volga, crosses more than 2,800 km from its origin springs in the Black Forest Mountains to its mouth in the Black Sea. Its waters fight continuously with rocks, but nowhere else the fight is so fierce as it is in the wild narrow path between Bazias and Drobeta Turnu Severin. The tourist crossing this spectacular narrow path will never forget these places. The most impressive is the narrow tract, at the Cazane (sector situated on the Mehedinti county territory which forms a complex preserve). Alexandru Vlahuta was writing: how much did the Danube have to fight before arriving here! She had to cut through mountains, to dig her own bed in the rocks across the Carpathians. She knocked and the Iron Gates opened in front of the eternal power of her waves; - The Nera Gorges-(35 km away from Oravita), they are the longest (over19 km) and, certainly, among the most beautiful gorges in Romania. They form a complex preserve with natural treasures characterized by wildness and pictoresque offering the tourist a peaceful isolation and many surprises; - The Caras Gorges - complex preserve (floristic, geological and spelaeological) with many Karst phenomena (caves, dolinas). The gorges have the aspects of a canyon and occupy the second place in Romania, in terms of length (19 km); - The Corcoaia Gorges - (40 km upstream of Baile Herculane), geological preserve, on the upper course of the Cerna river, with a length of 200 m, they are very interesting due to the vertical walls (more than 150 m in height) and to their various forms; - The Minis Gorges - (more than 14 km in length); - The Cerna Gorges.

LAKES

- The Iron Gates I man-made dam lake, alongside the hydro-electric power station, forms a great power and navigation complex built in cooperation with the former Yugoslavia (1964-1971). The touristic area on the lake banks is one of the most tempting destinations for Romanian and foreign tourists. The road along the lake, with dozens of bridges, viaducts (over 60 m in height) and tunnels (named the Sun Highway), offers a great view of the concrete giant; - The Devil's Lake - natural Karst lake, in the Nera Gorges, at the entrance of a cave; - The Buhui Lake - underground lake, formed by the obstruction of some galleries in the Buhui cave; - Iezerul Tarcu - glacial lake north of the Tarcu Peak.

PRESERVES AND MONUMENTS OF NATURE

-Domogled-The Cerna Valley - an area with many preserves and monuments of nature (floristic, faunistic and landscape preserves). It is situated on the both banks of the Cerna river, near Baile Herculane. The Domogled is one of the richest places in Europe in what concerns the plant species (submediterranean species, lilac, Turkish hazel). The Cerna river cut in the Domogled limestones abrupt gorges of amazing beauty; - Schitu - botanical preserve on the Ciclova Valley; - The Big Valley - botanical preserve, north-east of Moldova Noua, Mediterranean - Atlantic species; - Zervesti - wild daffodils, (near Caransebes); - Ruschita - marble quarry.

SPAS

- Baile Herculane - it is situated in the south-western part of Romania, in the narrow valley of Cerna, at an altitude of 165 m (19 km away from Orsova, 41 km north-west of Drobeta Turnu Severin, 72 km away from Caransebes and 106 km south-east of Resita). Baile Herculane is the oldest resort in Romania (and one of the oldest in the world), documentary attested in 153 A.D. The healing power of the thermal springs, discovered since the times when the Romans were building the first fortresses in Dacia, is nowadays famous all over the world. The spa (dedicated by the Romans to Hercules) is guarded, in the east, by the Mehedinti Mountains and, in the west, by the Cerna Mountains. Baile Herculane has a climate of transition from continental to Mediterranean, with influences of currents coming from the Adriatic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. A feature of the local climate is the high negative air ionisation (specific to an altitude of 3,000 m) which increases the body resistance to infections and regulates the operation of the endocrine glands. The treatment facilities available here are: devices for hot sulphur mineral water and hot chlorosodic mineral water baths in tubs and pools, with the possibility of kinetotherapy; open air hot mineral water pools; devices for aerosols and mineral water instalations; facilities for electro- and hidrotherapy; medical gyms; rooms for Gerovital treatments (geriatric cosmetics); Pell Amar. In the spa one can see the ruins of the Roman thermal spa (aqueducts, baths). There are organized trips to the Thieves Cave, the Coronini Plateau, The Vapour Cave, The Outlaws Cave, the Cerna Waterfall, the Domogled Gorges. Access: by train (Baile Herculane railway station on the Bucharest-Timisoara line, then by bus up to the resort), by road (DN 25 Drobeta Turnu Severin-Timisoara, with a deviation on DN 67D), by plain (Caransebes airport, then by train or by bus up to the resort); -Crivaia-spa (15 km away from Resita at an altitude of 650 m), on the bank of the Valiug dam lake (boats, fishing); - Semenic-spa (40 km away from Resita and at an altitude of 1,400 m), with a lot of snow lasting over 5 months a year, with many ski and sleigh slopes, cable transport, skilift, babyski; - Trei Ape-(at 37 km away from Resita, at an altitude of 850 m) near the Trei Ape dam lake, with ski slopes, nautical sports on the lake.

HISTORICAL VESTIGES

- Ruins of the Roman settlement Tibiscum-(2nd - 5th centuries A.D.) near Jupa, a flourishing settlement during the reign of the emperors Septimius Severus and Philipus Arabs, raised at the rank of municipium; - Lederata-Tibiscum Roman Road, - it is preserved in good conditions on a length of 5 km between Binis and Bocs; - The Centum Putei Roman Camp-(near Suruducu Mare), the unique Roman camp in the country which preserves all the old reinforcements; - The Roman Settlement Ad Pannonios-(2 km away from Teregova), it offers information regarding the development level of the civilisation in the 2nd and 3rd centuries A.D.; - Traces of the Lederata Roman Camp-(101 A.D.), near Bazias; - Traces of the Berzovia Roman Camp-(2nd century A.D.), near Berzovia. - Ruins of the Carasova Fortress-huge fortress built in 1333.

CULTURAL BUILDINGS

- Museum of Steam-Engines - in open air, the collection also includes the first engine made in Resita in 1872; - The Memorial House -General Dragalina - Caransebes, a great commander who died on the battlefield during World War I; - Museum of Theatre History-Oravita, the oldest theatre in the country can be seen here (1787-1817); - The Danube's Museum-Moldova Noua.